Secret of the past
by wolenczak2004
Summary: Lucas has some secrecy which is revealed. How the crew will react.Revised.
1. The beginning

O.K. I know, I know, I revised again. But, this time I'm not alone, So I hope your going to like the change. I want to thanks my beta and friend Lynn. A special thanks to my friend and co-writter Aewnaur.She help me for my story. Don't worry for the next chapter, I'm going to update soon.

**_- SECRET OF THE PAST -_**

BY

WOLENCZAK2004

AND

AEWNAUR

CHAPTER 1

- THE BEGINNING -

It was a quiet day on the bridge everyone was doing his or her jobs efficiently. The clicking of Lucas's keystrokes the loudest noise heard. It was the type of day Captain Bridger enjoyed. He should have known it wouldn't last.

"Captain, I'm receiving a signal," announced Lt. O'Neill, senior communications officer for the science vessel.

"On screen Lieutenant," he ordered.

"I'm sorry, sir... I only have audio."

"Very well Lieutenant, let's hear it," Bridger sighed. He could already feel the day plummeting.

First there was only static, then an ice-cold voice. The Captain's eyes narrowed at the words.

"Is my Pretty Boy listening? Ha ha, I'm sure he is," the voice went from ice cold to mocking.

Lucas immediately recognized the voice and his fingers froze over the keyboard. No one on the bridge noticed as he started to tremble and turned deathly white, as if he had heard a ghost. He closed his eyes as the voice continued.

"Oh! Pretty boy, are you there? Can you hear me? You thought a prison could hold me? Ha ha! No, no! I've waited so long to find you and now I have. I know you're there, hiding on board the SeaQuest. Your uncle should have found a better place to hide you. Ha ha! You should have seen the look on his face when I saw him last! I am going to see you soon, my Pretty Boy. Very, very soon. Ha ha ha!"

When the transmission ended the laughter echoed around the bridge until it was replaced by the static of open air waves. The rest of the crew sat in stunned silence, no one knew what to make of the message.

"Lieutenant, find the source and the origin of that signal. I don't have time for jokes," snapped the Captain, his earlier good mood shattered.

Lucas sat still for a few minutes letting himself calm enough to move without drawing unwanted attention. When he was no longer trembling he took a deep breath and went to the captain

"Sir, my work here is finished. I'd like to go work on that glitch with the vocorder now."

The Captain nodded and waved him off.

Lucas walked calmly to the doors and left the bridge as if nothing were wrong. He kept his pace steady until he was out of sight then he ran for his cabin. The moment he got there, he slammed the door and locked it. As soon as the locked clicked into place Lucas let the panic overtake him. He threw himself onto his bed and curled up, not even attempting to block the painful memories. He rocked himself into a restless sleep, unaware and uncaring about the tears drying on his face.

TCB


	2. Flashback

**_- SECRET OF THE PAST -_**

BY 

WOLENCZAK2004 

AND 

AEWNAUR 

- CHAPTER 2 - 

- FLASHBACK - 

"no, no No No NO NO!" Lucas shouted as the blows rained down on him.

"Shut up! Shut up, I'm tired of listening to you. So just shut your damned mouth," said the cold voice.

Lucas pulled on his wrists, they were tied above is head. Blood ran down his arms. He closed his eyes, as if, by not seeing it, it wouldn't be real.

"Yes, that's it, remains still pretty boy. Oh, my sweet boy."

"No, no!" he begged. "Please don't do this. Nono," he whimpered as another fist landed.

Lucas woke up in sweat.

"Shit, it just can't be true. He can't possibly be free," he moaned softly to himself. He needed to get up and call his Uncle.

Lucas waited for the number to connect and someone to answer at his Uncle Lawrence's house.

"Yes?" the voice paused. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Hello Aunt Cynthia, is Uncle Lawrence there?"

"Lucas! My god Lucas, haven't you been told. Oh dear I don't know how to say this but your Uncle, your Uncle is .. Is..."

"No." he denied. "No, no ... not uncle Lawrence, not that, please, please no," Lucas felt the tears forming in his eyes and didn't even try to stop them.

"It's him, it's him, he killed Lawrence. He's back," Lucas sobbed.

"Lucas, no. Stop that. It's impossible. He's in prison. Do you hear me?"

"No, he's free, he sent seaQuest a message. I'm sure Cynthia. It happened this morning, it was his voice. He said that he had seen Uncle Lawrence," his voice trembled at the memory.

"Lucas, I have to go tell the police. Don't leave the seaQuest. Not for any reason. I'll keep in touch about the funeral, but until then stay on the seaQuest. Do you understand."

He nodded his understanding.

"I love you Angel. Stay safe," and with that the transition ended.

Lucas felt like his heart was breaking. Fear was over riding everything else in his brain. For over a year Lawrence had been his safety net. He had protected him and provided for him. And now that was gone. All of the doubts and fears of the past came flooding back. He didn't know what to do now.

"Lucas on the bridge, Lucas on the bridge."

"What now," he moaned. He didn't know if he was ready to face anything else. He took a deep breath and headed for the bridge.

"Yes Captain."

"Lucas can you trace the origin of the last call, please. Lt. O'Neill can't seem to get a lock on it."

"Of course sir. Right away," he kept his head down and didn't notice the looks of concern thrown his way.

TBC


	3. Outburst

Thanks to the wonderfull reviews, Dolphinology, Teacher Tam, Swasti and Kate give me. That's encourage me to continue. I want to let you knoe to go loke at my SeaQuest site, I have some foction that I edit just there.

To Dolphinology : Yes, this time Lawrence is the good guy. I want to make him look diffirent. I hope i surprise you.

To Teacher Tam : Just say, read ans see. I can realy surprise you soon.

To Swasti : Yes and more coming soon.

To Kate : Um... Well I don't know what you think, but, i'm sure to surprise you.

**_- SECRET OF THE PAST -_**

_BY_

_WOLENCZAK2004_

_AND_

_AEWNAUR_

_- CHAPTER THREE -_

**_- OUTBURST -_**

2 days later

Lucas bent over his work chewing furiously on the gum in his mouth when Darwin snuck up on him and splashed.

"Darwin, cut it out. I have to finish this and I can't if you splash me," Lucas shouted.

"Darwin play! Lucas play!"

Lucas sighed, he hadn't had much time for his friend lately with everything else going on. "I promise fish-face, as soon as I get this finished, we'll play."

"No, Lucas sad, Lucas fear. Darwin Lucas play. Lucas happy."

Lucas looked at his friend in wonder. How does he always know how I feel? He was so tired, he sat next to the moon pool and ran one shaky hand over the top of Darwin's melon. He loved the feel of Darwin's head. Somehow just petting the mammal made the nightmares seem a lot more distant.

"Lucas no sleep. Lucas nightmares."

"You saw that huh? Yeah, I'm having nightmares again. But it's going to be alright."

"Lucas who is nightmare man?"

"Nobody fish-face, at least no one that you need to worry about. Okay. Look if you don't let me finish my job I can't play with you. Okay?"

"Yes, Lucas play."

He passed the rest of the afternoon playing with Darwin, not even stopping to eat.

Kristine tiptoed away from the room, she had heard the conversation between Lucas and Darwin and was worried but didn't want to intrude on the boy's private time. Heavens knew you never had much private time on a submarine. But she did intend on speaking to him about it later. If he was having trouble sleeping she, as his doctor needed to know. The crew counted on Lucas too much for him to be getting ill due to a lack of sleep.

Several hours later she left her office and called Lucas over to her.

"Lucas come on. It's dinner time and I know you haven't eaten all day."

"Ok, just a second," Lucas groaned. Everyone was obsessed with his eating habits.

The mess hall was full by the time they had their tray's and joined the rest of the senior staff at the table. Lucas sat between Kristen and the Captain and across from Katie and Ben. Tim, Commander Ford, Miguel, and Chief Crocker spread out and down the table around them.

"So, Lucas. Is everything okay with the new program?" asked Tim

"Yes."

"And the vocorder, did you get it fixed?" asked Jonathan.

"Yes."

"Hey, did you replace the data pack at the main comm. Unit?" Miguel asked.

"Yes."

"Lucas, did you get around to the security upgrade we talked about?" Chief Crocker asked.

"Yes."

"You're awfully quiet tonight, Lucas. Too many projects?" Katie eyed the young man in concern.

"Yes."

"Lucas, I heard your conversation with Darwin this morning," Kristine said thinking that she might get an answer out of him without him paying attention. He was so lost in his own world that she was hoping to get a truthfull answer out of him.

Lucas froze, the blood drained from his face. Surely she wasn't going to bring it up here. Not in front of everyone. What the hell did she know? He felt the frustration and anger building inside him. What was with these people?

"And?" He kept his voice tightly controlled.

"And I am concerned about you. If you are having any problems you need to talk about them. Is there anything you need to talk about?" A feeling of dread entered her. This was not going the way she had hoped, not to mention now they had everyone's attention. Lucas would never talk now, she knew.

"No."

"Lucas, what is she talking about?" the Bridger asked.

"Nothing, it's none of her business. It's my private life. Don't you people understand PRIVATE," Lucas's voice rose as he got angrier.

"Excuse me? Apologize immediately, there is no reason to raise your voice," Bridger yelled in shocked incredulity.

"No! No I won't apologize," Lucas was on the verge of loosing what little control he had, he stood to leave the room.

"Lucas, what is with this attitude?" Bridger demanded.

Lucas turned and took several steps towards the door when Bridger finally stood. "Lucas stop right there Kiddo. I need some answers about this."

Lucas turned to face his Captain the last of his control fled

"Fuck you," his voice was harsh as his throat closed. "You know nothing about me, about my life," his voice was raising and his heart racing with the force of emotions he had been repressing. "God, Just leave me alone. Don't you understand the concept of Privacy. I'm tired. Tired of all of you and your little projects. 'Lucas do this, Lucas do that,'. I just want some peace, but oh no you can't do that. Now you want to pick my brain apart like some shrink! Well FUCK YOU!" He wasn't even aware of the tears streaming down his face as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The mess hall was oddly silent after Lucas turned and ran out of the room. Everyone was shocked at the emotional outburst of the usually quiet young man. The Captain ordered everyone to just leave the kid alone for now. He would handle him. But that left a lot of gossip for the rumor mill and on a sub even one of this size the news of the outburst spread like wild fire.

Lucas ran to his quarters and for the first time since his arrival on the boat locked his door. He took his frustration out on anything he could find. He ripped his posters off the walls, overturned his desk. He ripped his bed apart and threw his cloths all over the room. Anything to relieve the pent up tension and overwhelming frustration. He stopped and dropped to the floor with an anguished sob when he spotted the laptop computer his Uncle had bought for him. He grabbed his pillow and buried his face in it as he screamed out his pain. His heart felt like it had a piece missing, he hadn't been on the seaQuest very long, little more than a month, and yet his whole life was now changed. Again. His Uncle was dead, his world was crumbling around him. He rocked himself to sleep sitting in the corner of his room with his face buried in his pillow

Darwin looked in from the aqua tube. He wished he could comfort his friend. He turned his knowing gaze from the destroyed room to his friend and watched over him as he cried.

T.B.C. 


	4. SOS

A special thanks to everyone who have reviews my fic : Lynnp, Teacher Tam, Katknits00 and Swasti.

To Lynnp : Thank you my friend, me and Aewnaur are really happy that you like it. We're going to continue to try to make this story better.

To Teacher Tam : Thank you for your kind word.

To Katknits00 : Thank you. Y'a I like the idea that Lawrence is not the bad guys for once.

To Swasti : Thank you very much for your support. Sorry for the harsh words, but, it's necessary.

**_- SECRET OF THE PAST -_**

CHAPTER FOUR 

- S.O.S. - 

**BANG! BANG!**

Lucas opened his eyes and looked around him to see where the noise was coming from. Lucas staggered to his door thinking someone was knocking, but stumbled over a something in the floor. He fell fast and hard.

"Ouch, shit! Damn it that hurt!" exclaimed Lucas.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Lucas looked towards the aqua-tube and saw Darwin butting his nose against the glass.

"Darwin, I'll come as soon as I find my way through this mess."

Darwin went to the moon pool to wait, it was past time for Lucas to get up and he wanted some fish.

"Lucas to the bridge, Lucas to the bridge," resounded Tim's voice. The page being repeated meant he was needed immediately, he sighed, he didn't think he was ready to deal with the rest of the crew yet.

"I can't even wake up good and they need me," he complained to the empty room.

Lucas changed his clothing at top speed and ran to the bridge. Completely forgetting the scene he had made the night before. He was out of breath by the time he reached the bridge. Bridger saw him right away and wasted no time approaching him.

"Lucas, I think we have a problem with the detectors. Can you look at them?"

"Yeah sure no problem," he answered before walking over the console.

"Captain, I'm picking up a distress call," announced Lt. O'Neill.

"All right, lets hear it."

"Mayday, mayday... is the ... blue bird... engines were dama... need... elp... 20 .. mbers mayd...…," then silence.

"Lieutenant did you get a lock on that signal?"

"Yes Sir."

"How long to intercept?"

"Approximatly 15 minutes, Sir."

"Transfer the coordinates to the helm Lt.," Bridger turned to the helmsman. "Helm, set course to intercept the Blue Bird at full speed. Chief Crocker, take the MR-2 for the rescue of the Blue Birds crew. O'Neill, page the Dr. and tell her we have a rescue mission and to get her people ready in med-bay then to get to launch bay 3."

While the Captain was giving orders Lucas continued to work on the detectors console. An hour and a half later the seaQuest crew had returned from its rescue mission and had begun to move away from the downed vessel in case of an explosion.

Bridger went down to launch bay 3 to meet with the rescue party. A man who looked to be close to 40 entered with Chief Crocker, Bridger guessed him to be the Blue Bird's Captain.

"Hello, I'm Captain Josh Wallace of the Blue Bird," the man introduced himself as they approached Bridger. He held out his hand politely, and continued when Bridger accepted the hand shake. "Thank You for your help.

"Captain Nathan Bridger of the seaQuest. Welcome aboard. I hope that you and your men are well."

"Yes, thanks to your doctor. Just some small cuts and brusies, nothing to drastic."

"If you'll follow me to the wardroom, you can explain the situation to me there."

"Certainly Captain," Josh inclined his head in affirmation.

"Please, call me Nathan."

"Only if you call me Josh."

"Deal. This way please," Bridger led the way to the wardroom.

After leaving the Chief and Ben to prepare rooms for the Blue Bird crew, Bridger and Wallace walked in companionable silence and Bridger completely forgot about speaking with Lucas.

T.B.C. 


	5. Secrets

**_Chapter 5 _**

**_- Secrets -_**

"So Josh, tell me what happened on your boat?" Nathan said a few minutes later when he and Josh, the Captain of the Blue Bird were settled in his office.

"Honestly Nathan, I have no idea. One minute every thing was fine, all reading were normal. Then the engines overheated, all the main systems started blowing, everything went down. It was chaos within minutes," Josh sighed tiredly. "Do you think you can help us?"

"Perhaps, but I won't promise anything. I'll have Lucas look into it though. Get him to transfer any salvageable data to one of our computers, see what he can come up with."

"Lucas? Civilian?" Josh questioned.

"Yes, Chief Computer Analyst actually. He is only sixteen so he can't enlist, thank God! He's a member of the science team."

"Wow, I didn't know the UEO accepted children on a military submarine."

"One, the seaQuest is a research vessel before a military one. Second," Bridger smirked. "Lucas is no ordinary child."

"Still, can't be easy having a kid on board. It would probably drive my crew crazy."

"True, it isn't always easy. Just last night Lucas threw one of those famous teen-aged tantrums, I still haven't had time to talk to him about it yet."

"Why isn't this kid in school?"

"Ah, like I said he is no ordinary kid. He graduated Stanford, top of his class. He's a genius. And if anyone can figure out what went wrong with your boat it will be him. I should probably go get him started on that now."

"Yeah, I should go check on my men too."

Nathan headed for the bridge, still thinking about Lucas. He didn't understand what had set the young man off last night. He kept reexamining the scene in his head. He felt like he was missing something. If he could only figure out what had happened, he could understand what was happening with his youngest crew member.

A man entered the moon-pool and looked around. Not seeing anyone, he went to the pool and grabbed the vocorder. As he pulled a syringe from his pocket he kept one eye to the door. He slowly injected the contents of the syringe into the back of the device. The purple liquid penetrated the protective casing. A few minutes later, when the man was satisfied with his work he put the syringe in his pocket and left the vocorder on the floor. He left the moon-pool without a backwards glance, but with an evil smile on his face.

The Captain glanced around the bridge, Lucas was still working diligently at his station. He debated on whether or not to disturb the young man. He looked to be deep into his work, but then again Lucas was always deep into his work.

"Lucas," he called softly as he approached so as not to startle him.

"Sir."

"I would like to know if you can access the main computers of the Blue Bird. We need to know what happened over there."

"Yeah, let me check. Give me a few minutes."

"Alright."

A few minutes later Lucas turned back to the Captain.

"No, impossible."

"How is that impossible? Lucas, I need that information."

"Captain, I cannot access that computer. The system must have fried. There is only one way to recover that data."

"I'm listening."

"I have to go to the Blue Bird and access directly to the hard drive," Lucas said softly, knowing the reaction it would produce.

"No! Lucas, you can't believe that I would send a child onto a submarine with the possibility of it exploding. Out of the question."

They stared at each other for a bit before Lucas broke the silence. He knew the Captain was scared, he understood that but it didn't change the facts. He tried to explain the situation to the Captain again.

"Captain, we are loosing time. The only way to recover that data is for someone, meaning me, to go over there and get it."

"No, you can tell someone else how to get it. Explain what you need to Lt. Shan." Bridger responded harshly.

Lucas threw his pencil down with a growl. "Why will nobody listen to me? Why even ask me, if you aren't going to listen?" he yelled his frustration and lack of sleep finally getting to him.

"Lucas! Stop this yelling right now. Give the directions to Shan."

"Fine, does Shan have the skill to hack into the Blue Birds computers?" Lucas held his voice slightly calmer.

"No, he can't." Nathan sighed.

"Bingo! Give the Captain a prize. No he can't do it. I'm the only one on this ship that can. So I have to go over there."

"If I let this happen, you will obey Chief Crocker. Understand. If he tells you it's time to go you close down and go. Understand."

"Yes, I understand and will obey. Just like a good little puppy," Lucas rolled his eyes.

Nathan looked and Lucas and shook his head. 'This Kid, what am I going to do with him?' he thought.

Lucas left the bridge and went to feed Darwin. He stroked the dolphin for minute before grabbing the vocorder that someone had left on the floor.

"Hey fish-face, you hungry?"

"Yes Darwin hungry. Much unknown people," echoed the synthetic voice.

"Yeah, a submarine had some problems and we had to help them," Lucas didn't put the vocorder down as he began feeding his friend.

He was thinking of the upcoming mission to the Blue Bird so Lucas was unprepared for Darwin's question.

"Why Lucas have nightmares?"

Oh my God, think Lucas. He should have expected this question but he didn't want to talk about this, neither did he want to lie to his friend. He looked around to see if he was alone. With no one around, he made his decision

"Well, fish-face, I haven't really ever told anyone this so don't go telling anyone okay. I.. I don't even know how to say it really."

"Lucas just tell."

"A while ago, someone hurt me," Lucas started with a shaky voice.

"Who? How?"

"Who?" he cleared his throat. "A really bad man. Umm, how? Well, what he did to me? He kidnapped me when I was young. He tor... he tortured me. He trapped me in a whi... white room. He use rope to tie me on a table or on a bed…" his voice broke, he couldn't go on. His whole body began to tremble. He closed his eyes, tears dropped silently on is cheek.

"Why?"

"Why did he do it? I don't know Dar. I don't know," Lucas took a deep breath and wiped at his face. "I have to go get ready for this mission. Fish-face, promise me you won't tell anyone what I just told you. It's a secret."

"Darwin don't tell. Secret safe."

Lucas looked at his friend for a few seconds then left the moon-pool. He actually felt a little better for having told one of his secrets. But by the time he made it to the launch bay his headache had returned.

T.B.C. 


	6. Blue Bird and Dream

_**CHAPTER 6**_

_**- BLUE BIRD AND DREAM -**_

Lucas wait quietly in the shuttle. Crocker look in the boy eyes and can see the fear. He make the decision to talk with the kid.

" Are you o.k. Lucas ? "

" Yes, just a little nervous. I think going to this boat give me cramps. "

" Don't worry, i'm sure everything is going alright. "

" I know. "

The shuttle finish is ducking with the blue bird. The security team and Lucas go inside the ship. Lucas look at is map and find the way to the main cumputer. Arrived at is destination, Lucas look at the cumputer.

" O.k. i'm going to begin the hacking. You can go look at the generator during this time. "

" You're sure Lucas. The Captain tell me not to leave you alone. "

" Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. " Lucas rolled is eyes at Crocker attitude.

" Fine, but don't go around this ship. Did we have a deal ? "

" Yes sir. " Lucas salut Crocker in mock.

" Very funny Lucas, your a clown. "

Crocker and is team go to look at the generator. During this time Lucas begin to hack in the main cumputer. After a few minutes Lucas have some difficult to consentrate at is job. Is headaches begin to be stronger. Lucas try very hard to do is hacking. He can't let the Captain down. Crocker check the generator tiredly. He's not realy interested by this job. After doing is this, Crocker return to look at Lucas. When he arrive, he look slowly at the kid. He see the kid crunched over the cumputer. The kid don't look good.

" Lucas, are you o.k. ? "

" Y'a why ? "

" You don't look great, your face is pale and your hand tremble. "

" Well, I have a headaches, but it's nothing, realy. "

" Maybe it's better if we return immediat... " begin Crocker, but can't finish is phrase.

Lucas collapse. Crocker catch him just before he touch the ground. Crocker give the order to evacuate the ship now. Placing Lucas in is arms, they go to the shuttle. Inside, the Chief lay Lucas in a couch. The shuttle begin is disparture. Then he contacte the seaquest.

" Seaquest, this is shuttle MR-2, respond. "

" MR-2, this is seaquest, what can I do for you Chief ? " ask O'Neil.

" We return to seaquest now. When we arrive, we need a medical team wait for us. "

" Why ? Did something happen in the ship ? "

" Well, yes. Lucas collapse. "

" O.k. I tell the doctor immediatly. Do you need enything. "

" No. Thanks. MR-2 out. "

" Doctor Westphalen. We need you in lunch-bay 3. "

" What happening ? "

" Chief Crocker tell me that Lucas collapse. Nothing more doc. Sorry. "

" Thanks Lieutenent. I'm going to lunch-bay immediatly. Westphalen out. "

" Commander Ford. "

" Yes Lieutenent. "

" Sir, MR-2 is going to proceed is ducking in a few minutes. I think you want to now sir. "

" Did they compete the mission ? "

" I don't know sir. The only things I know, it's that Lucas collapse. "

" Thank you mr. O'Neil. "

" Commander, maybe we can inform the Captain about Lucas. "

" God, your right. I tell him. "

Captain Bridger work in is quarter. But it's realy hard for him, he can't stop himself to think about Lucas.

Beep! Beep!

" Bridger here. "

" Sir, I have to inform you that shuttle MR-2 is returning. "

" Did they complete the mession ? "

" I don't know sir. "

" You don't ask the question ? " ask the surprise Captain.

" I don't talk to Chief, sir. Lieutenent O'Neil do this. The only things I know, its that Lucas collapse, sir. "

" What ! What happening ? "

" I don't know. I'm sorry sir. "

" Thanks mr. Ford. I'm going to lunch-bay 3. Bridger out. "

Bridger and Westphalen praticly run on itch other when they arrive at the lunch-bay. The two adultes look at each other. We see fear in both of them. They wait silently. Finaly the shuttle ducked. When Chief exit the shuttle with Lucas in is arm, Westphalen run directly to look at the unconcious shape in Crocker arm. She ordored to put Lucas in the stretcher and give the order to take him in madbay to find what happening with him. During this time, in is unconcious mind, Lucas go insinde is memories.

Flashback

4 years old Lucas play with is cumputer. Is mother look at him and find she can't held is smile.

" Hey! Honey. You want something to eat ? "

" Yes, mummy. I'm hungry. " answer the happy kid with a big smile on is face.

" Cookies and milk ? " asked is mother.

" Youpiii! . " sream the lettle boy.

" Go outside and play with your bike during the time I cook them. "

" O.k. mummy. "

Mrs. Wolenczak look at is son and shake is head. Her son is a realy good little child. She thanks God every time to have this chance. She have three children. Lucas is the younger.When Lucas go outside, he found is older brother and his twin sister.

" Hey ! Matty, Laura, you want to go take a ride with the bike ? "

" No ! And don't call me Matty, Luke. "

" Only if you stop calling me Luke. And if you don't stop, I tell mummy and she's not going to give you a cookies. "

" WOW ! Nice work bro. " tell Laura.

" O.k. Stop this you two. I'm older then you so your going to do what i'm going to tell you. "

Mathew begin to chase is brother and sister. During the time the three kids played, a black car stop in front of the house and a man with black clothes and sunglass exit the car. He go directly to the kids. Lucas and the others see the man and take the direction of the house to tell there mum they have a vesitor.

" Mummy ! Mummy ! " yelled Lucas when a reach the kitchen.

" Lucas please. You don't want to wake your father. " she tell this with a finger in front of her mouth and smile at his little baby

" Oups! sorry mummy. I forgot. We have a vesitor. "

Ding ! Dong ! Lucas mother go to the door and open it.

" Yes, what can i do for you ? "

" Can I talk to you and your husband please. " ask the man.

" Yes, Just come in and wait to the living room. just sit down on the couch. I'm going to wake my husband. "

" Thanks. "

Lucas look at the strange man. Matty and Laura take a place on the other couch, in front of the man. Is mother return with is fahter in the living room. And take place in the couch, sandwished Matty and Laura.

" What can we do for you mr. What is your name ? " ask Lucas father.

" Well, my name is not important. I come to take your son. Lucas. " tell the man coldly.

Lucas parents look at the him in shock. Lucas stop moving when he hear is name and look at is parents. Matty and Laura begin to be scare. They look at each other and at Lucas. Not realy understending what happening.

" Excuse me ? Are you nuts ? Get out of my house. NOW ! " yell Lucas father.

" NO. Your son is going to come with me. You have to other children. You don't need him. If your not going to cooperate, I have the permission of my boss to kill you. And your two other children. It's your choice. "

" Who is your boss ? " asked mr. Wolenczak.

" This is not your business mr. Wolenczak. Now what is your decission about your Lucas ? "

" No ! Your not going to take my baby. Go to hell ! " yell Lucas mother.

" It's realy your choice ? Fine. "

The strange man take a gun in is pocket and point it at the Wolenczak. Lucas see what's happening and come to help is parents. When the bad man stop him by grabing is left arm. Lucas struggle again him, but can't do nothing to free himself. The man look in the two Wolenczak with the gun pointed at them.

" So, look like you make your decession. You choose to die. Well, who is going to be the first ? "

" Please no. Don't do this. Let us go. Please. You can't kill us. We have children. I don't know who is your boss, but please don't do this. Don't kill us. Don't take my son. please. Leave us alone. " beg mrs. Wolenczak.

" NO ! I'm going to finish my job. Killing you and take your son to my boss. After this my life is going better. "

The man point the gun directly at mr. Wolenczak head and pull the trigger. The shot kill him immediatly. Lucas scream when he see is father dead.

" NO ! NO ! Daddy ! Daddy ! "

Matty and Laura scream and try to run, but were stoped by there mother. She hang the two crying childs in her arms. And look in the men eyes in shock. This nuts men just shout and kill is beloved husband. She fear for the life of her children now.

The man turn the gun to mrs. Wolenczak and pull the trigger. She fall to the ground. The men let Lucas go. Lucas run to the dead bodies of is parents.

" Mommy ! Daddy ! Wake up. Please, wake up, don't leave me. "

Matty and Laura go reach there brother. Both them can't stop crying. The stranger move is gun and point it at Matty head. Lucas see the movement and move in front of is older brother to protect him. He just lost is father and mother. He don't want to lose Matty and Laura.

" What are you doing Lucas ? " ask the man with a smile.

" Please I go with you, but don't do anything to Matty and Laura. Please. " Tell the sheaked boy.

" O.k. Come here and I don't kill them. "

" No, Lucas stay here. " Beg Laura. Fear to lost is twin in the hand of this nuts man.

" Laura ! I can't let him hurt you and Matty. " answer Lucas.

" Lucas, you are not going with this men. You have to do what I'm tell you. You stay. " Matty don't want to lose another member of is familly.

" Come now kid. Or I kill them. "

" O.k. "

Lucas aproach the man slowly. Wen he reach him, the man take is arm in a vice gripe. Lucas look at the man and see him point his gun at Matty head. Lucas can't stop him when he pull the trigger. Matty drop on the floor like a rock. Unmoving.

" Why ! Why ! You promise me your not going to hurt them. "

The man don't answer. He point his gun in Laura head and shout. Laura drop on is knee and fell to the ground. Lucas just can't belive what's happening. He lost his familly. He look at every bodies and can't stop crying.

" Time to go kid. " tell the bad man.

Lucas don't move. The man take a stun gun and shout in the back of the child. Lucas fell to the floor. He put the kid in is shoulder and go to is car. After he have put the kid in the back sit, the man begin to drive away of the Wolenczak house with a smile in is face. The first step of is job is done.

Lucas turn and turn in is medbay bed. Kristine can't find nothing wrong with the boy. She look at him with love in is eyes. The Captain ask her why Lucas have collapsed. Kristine tell the Captain she can't find nothing. Lucas begin to shruggle in is sleep. Kristine and the Captain try to wake the boy.

" NO! NO! Mummy ! Daddy ! Matty ! Laura ! Don't hurt them, Please! " yell Lucas in is sleep.

" Lucas ! Honey ! Please wake up it's me Kristine. "

Lucas wake up and begin to scream. The Kid can't stop to beg to don't kill them. Bridger came at is side in a second. Taking the boy in is arm, the Captain begin to console the boy. Kristine look at them and go outside the room, to let them have some privat time. But the way Lucas at scream and ask for is mother and is father and this Matty and Laura, make her sad. She take another look at them and return to is duty. She have to find out why Lucas have collapse.

TBC


	7. Confusion

I want to thank my beta reader EskimoSatan for her great work.

**- CHAPTER SEVEN -**

**- CONFUSION -**

Bridger looked down at Lucas, who had just managed to fall back asleep. Standing up, he placed a hand on Kristine's shoulder. "I'm going to call Lucas' parents, let them know what happened."

She nodded and Bridger left, making his way to his quarter. He sat at his desk and pulled up his vid screen, calling the number the UEO had given him.

A man answered on the second ring without turning on the video feed. "Hello?"

"This is Captain Nathan Bridger of the Seaquest. I need to speak with Lawrence or Cynthia Wolenczak."

There was pause, followed by, "I'm sorry, but they're unavailable at the moment. I can take a message and have them call you back at their convenience."

"I'm afraid I have to insist. Their son, Lucas is sick."

"I'm sorry, but you must have the wrong Wolenczak. The Lawrence and Cynthia I know don't have children."

The line went dead before Bridge could respond and he stared at the screen, trying to process what he'd been told. What did he mean the Lawrence and Cynthia he knew had no children? How many Lawrence and Cynthia Wolenczaks were there?

Flicking the screen back on, he dialed Bill Noyce, picking up a pen and tapping it impatiently against his desk as he waited for Bill to pick up.

"Admiral Bill Noyce."

"It's Nathan."

The video feed turned on and Bill's face came into view, "Nathan, is everything alright? Was the mission a success?"

Nathan folded his hands on his desk, looking intently at the Admiral. "Not exactly. Lucas collapsed."

The concern was immediate in Bill's face and he put his hands on his desk, leaning forward, "Is he okay?"

"To be honest, I don't know. He's been acting strange the last few days, but we can't find anything wrong with him. That's not the reason I'm calling, though. Bill, I called Lawrence and Cynthia to let them know what had happened and I spoke to a man at their home that said the Wolenczaks had no son."

For a long minute, Bill said nothing and when he finally did, Bridger had a cold feeling in his stomach that said he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "God, Nathan, I was sure Lucas would have told you."

"Told me what?"

"Lawrence died three days ago. He was killed."

The pen that Bridger had forgotten he was still holding fell onto the desk with a loud thunk. "Does Lucas know?"

"Of course he knows. He was notified as soon as we found the bodies, but, to be honest, Nathan, he probably knew before we did. He was always in contact with them."

Numbly, Bridger sat back in his chair. "Why didn't he tell me?" His eyes focused on Bill and he asked accusingly, "Why did you tell me, Bill? If it affects a member of my crew, I have a right to know."

Bill sighed, "I was sure he would. If I'd thought otherwise, I would have commed you immediately. Apparently, Lucas is a little more private with his personal life than I realized."

"That makes two of us." Bridger focused on the table for a moment, reigning in his thoughts before he spoke. "His collapse is probably due the stress caused by his father's death. At least now we can help him."

"I'm sorry, Nathan."

Bridger nodded and reached for the button, "I'll be in touch." Ending the call, Bridger sat back in the chair, turning over his options of which there were sadly few. As much as he wanted to respect Lucas' privacy, there was the safety of his ship to consider. They were a submarine, at sea for long periods of time in close quarters. If someone was at risk, even of depression, it had to be dealt with. It was probably better if the senior staff knew, since they worked closely with Lucas, and, of course, Kristine was Lucas' doctor. He'd keep the number of people to a minimum and that would have to do.

Buzzing O'Niel, he told him to call a staff meeting. Five minutes later, he was standing in the conference room, trying to form the words necessary to explain this to his crew. It wasn't the first time Bridger had to deliver bad news and it certainly wouldn't be the last, but it never got any easier.

"I've been given some... unfortunate news regarding Lucas." Kristine perked up, sitting straight as she realized this concerned her patient. "Three days ago Lawrence Wolanczak was killed."

From the shock written on everyone's faces, Bridger was certain that Lucas hadn't told them. There was some satisfaction in that; it meant he hadn't been the only one Lucas didn't trust. However, this wasn't the sort of thing that was healthy for anyone to keep inside, especially not a boy Lucas' age.

Croker voiced the thought on everyone's minds, "Why didn't Lucas tell us?"

"I don't know, Chief. I only found out from Noyce a few minutes ago." Krieg mumbled something under his breath and Nathan turned to the Lieutenant. "Do you have something to say, Lieutenant Krieg?"

"I said, he didn't want anyone to pity him, sir. Lucas doesn't talk about his family, not to any of us, but I've overheard him talking with Darwin. Darwin won't judge him, he won't feel sorry for Lucas, or try and offer advice, he'll just listen."

All eyes turned to Krieg, shocked at his introspection. Katie was the first to recover, smiling sadly, "You're probably right, Ben. It just hurts that he didn't trust us."

"Yeah, well, it's up to Lucas who he tells his personal business, too. We have to respect that. If it's Darwin he trusts to keep his secret's save, that's his decision."

Bridger cut in, hearing the defensive tone in Krieg's voice, "I know, Kreig, but Lucas is supposed to tell us when something like this happens. It's our job to watch out for the crew, which we can't do if we don't know when something's wrong. The last few days would have been easier on everyone if we'd known what was going on."

Krieg sighed, rubbing the back of neck ruefully, "I know, sir. I know. But we know now, right? So, now we can help him."

Bridger nodded his agreement, "I'm going to go talk to Lucas. I don't want anyone to push him, give him his space, keep anyone from hassling him. This does not go beyond this room. We respect his privacy. Is that clear?" To everyone's nod, he said, "Dismissed."

Kristine kept her seat while the others filed out. "He's right you know."

Bridger nodded, "I know. No one likes pity, especially not Lucas. I can't count the number of stupid, reckless things that boy has done to make us see him as an equal."

"Hm. Well, what do you say we get down to medbay and see how that stupid, reckless boy is doing?"

With a sour laugh, Bridger shook his head. "Let's get this over with."

They left the warroom, silent as they made their way to through the ship, each of them deep in thought. Lucas was hurting, holding his pain inside and they needed to get him to open up before he broke down and hurt himself, or worse.

The medbay was empty and it didn't take the shared glance to know that they were both thinking the same thing. If Lucas wasn't here, he'd be in his room, or possibly with Darwin, but his room was closer, so they'd start there. The red light indicating the locked door, told them they'd been right; Lucas was there and he didn't want to be disturbed.

Unfortunately, undisturbed wasn't what was best for him. Knocking on the door, Nathan waited.

The response he got was as angry and hostile as he was expecting. "What?!"

"Lucas, we need to talk."

"I don't want to talk. Go away."

"I know about your father." Bridger said patiently.

Lucas didn't say anything for a moment, then, "I said, go away." "Lucas, open this door, before I open it for you."

"What?!"

Kristine and Bridger waited. If Lucas didn't open the door soon, Bridger would open it himself.

"I don't want to talk. Go away." Bridger tensed and there was a long pause. "I said, go away."

Damn it! Bridger buzzed security, "Croker, get down to Lucas's room with a pass."

Lucas' voice carried through the door again. "What?!" It was exact same inflection, tone and level as the last two times and Bridger's stomach dropped. "I don't want to talk, go away." It was a recording.

He buzzed Croker again, "Hurry with that pass. I think something's wrong."

The recording cycled twice more before Croker appeared, "What's going on?"

"Lucas has locked himself in his room and turned on some kind of recorder."

Croker swiped the card and stepped aside as the door slid open to reveal a room that looked like a tornado had passed through it - the blankets had been thrown off the bed, the desk chair was overturned, CD's were strewn on the floor, and Lucas' notes were everywhere, some torn and ripped in Lucas' haste.

Bridger turned to Croker, his face grim, "Chief, call out a search party. I want every inch of this boat covered."

"Yes, sir." Croker stalked off, buzzing the security team.

"I don't want to talk, go away." Pause. "I said, go away."

Kristine reached over, flicking off the small recorder that sat on the table next to the door and gave Bridger a knowing look. They had no idea what Lucas might have done, but people, especially teenagers did stupid things when they grieved. Until Lucas was found, though, there wasn't anything they could do other than wait.

TBC


	8. Escape

-CHAPTER EIGHT -

- ESCAPE -

Lucas tried to make his escape as stealthily as possible. Eventually someone was bound to notice he was gone, but he had to get off of the ship before that happened. If he stayed any longer, Ghost Man would find him and he didn't want the crew to be in danger.

If Ghost Man knew where he was, he had to leave, it was as simple as that, even if Cynthia had told him to stay on the Seaquest. The problem was, Cynthia didn't believe him. She said the Ghost Man was still in jail, but Lucas would have recognized that voice anywhere.

Pulling the Stinger up, he made his way to the one place that he knew was safe. The crew didn't know about, neither did the Captain or even Cynthia. He'd only ever told Laura where it was. This was safe. For him and for the Seaquest.

As the search wore on, the Captain became more and more scared. Hours of searching and a missing stinger forced them to come to the conclusion that Lucas was nowhere on the ship.

Bridger sat heavily in his chair on the main deck, running his hand over his face to steal himself for what he had to do next. "Lieutenant O'Neill, open the channels to Admiral Noyce' office."

"Yes, sir. Channel open."

Noyce immediately saw the strain on Bridger's face. "Nathan, what's wrong?"

"We can't find Lucas."

"What you mean, you can't find Lucas?"

"Exactly that, Bill. We searched the entire ship and he isn't on board. I'm sending a search party up top." This was his fault. It was Bridger's duty to keep Lucas safe, to know where he was. Lucas was more than just a member of his crew or his responsibility, he was a friend and the closest thing to a son Bridger had.

After a minute, Noyce nodded, "I'll contact his mother, see if she has any idea where Lucas might have gone. Stay in touch, Nathan."

With the transmission cut, Bridger stood up and turned to his crew. "Chief Croker, yo know what to do."

"Yes, sir." Croker stopped mid-step and caught Nathan's eye. "I'll find him, Captain."

Bridger forced himself to smile, "I hope you're right, Chief."

Kristine crossed her arms over her chest, "Nathan, I need you to come with me. We have to discuss how to deal with Lucas when he gets back."

Lucas sat on the bench, looking at the old house. He had so many memories in that house and all of them good. He closed his eyes and he could still see the house behind his lids. He could hear the sound of laughter in his head. He just wanted to forget Ghost Man. He wanted to stay hidden and keep Cynthia alive, not dead like Lawrence. His uncle was dead because of him.

He had to make sure Ghost Man didn't hurt anyone else.

Pulling his feet up, he put his chin on his knees. The captain would have noticed he was missing by now. Bridger would probably have everyone scouring the ship for him. He should call the captain, let him know he was okay.

Lucas wrapped his arms around his legs, whispering to noone, "Please, just... let him understand."

"Captain, we have an incoming call from an unidentified source."

Bridger looked up from the spot of floor he'd been studying. There was still no sign of Lucas and the longer it took to find him, the more likely that something was seriously wrong. He wanted to be out with the search party, looking for Lucas, but he had to stay on the bridge, he had to be the captain.

With a sigh, he nodded, "On screen, O'Neill."

For a moment, Bridger was convinced he was seeing things, because the face on screen looked exactly like Lucas. Then, Lucas spoke, "Hello, Captain."

"Lucas, where are you?" He didn't even realize he had stood up at first.

Lucas shook his head and bit his lip, "I can't, sir. I don't want to put you in danger."

"Lucas..."

"Don't try to find me, sir. You won't be able to."

"We know about your father. I know it hurts, but you have to let us help. You have to let me help."

"You can't help me, Captain. If you know about Lawrence, then you know he was killed, and if you try to help, he's going to kill you too, just to get you out of his way. You don't understand."

"Help me understand, Lucas. What are you talking about? Who is 'he'?"

Lucas' eyes glazed over and looked down, "Ghost man. He killed Lawrence. He'll kill Cynthia and all of you next, if that's what it takes to get to me. I... I can't let that happen. I can't have anymore innocent blood on my hands." Lucas looked up, finally meeting the captain's gaze. "Take care of yourself."

"Lucas, wait!" The screen went black and Bridger slammed his fist down on his armrest. "Damnit! O'Neill, get him back online!"

O'Neill tapped at his keyboard and finally turned an apologetic glance at the captain. "I'm sorry sir, the signal is untraceable."

Damnit! Lucas wasn't a genius for nothing, of course the damned signal couldn't be traced. "I want to talk to Noyce. NOW!"

"Yes, sir."

While O'Niell patched him through to the Admiral's office, Bridger tried to pull himself together. Who the hell was this Ghost Man and why was Lucas so scared of him? What had this man done to make Lucas think the Seaquest couldn't protect him?

However, when Noyce picked up, all of Bridger's efforts to be calm went out the proverbial window. Standing up, Bridger leveled Noyce with a glare, "Who the hell is Ghost Man, Bill?"

"Wha...?" Noyce's face drained of color. "That's classified information. How did you hear about him?"

"Lucas commed. He said Ghost Man killed Lawrence, seemed to think Cynthia was in danger, too. He said the Ghost Man would take us all out, too, if that's what it took to get to him."

"He said that?"

"Pretty damn sure, Bill. He said he had to hide to keep us safe. I can't protect him if I don't know what I'm protecting him from. I need information and I need it yesterday."

Noyce laced his fingers together and shook his head. "I don't know much beyond his existence, Nathan. It's highly classified and I'll have to petition Section Seven for access to those files."

"Section Seven is involved?" Section Seven was bad news. Section Seven was secret government projects, assassination, coverups and god-only-knew what else. "Please tell me that isn't true, Bill."

"All I know is Section Seven had business with him. That and..." Noyce f altered. "Look, Nathan, whoever this guy is, he's dangerous. The only word I've ever heard about him is to stay the hell out of his way if you want to live. I'll call my contact, see if he can help me. Don't do anything rash, Nathan, give me time. Please, for just once in your life, listen to me and wait. We need more information on him before you go gallivanting off."

Bridger didn't like it. He didn't like the idea of sitting around and waiting while Lucas was out there alone, but it wasn't like he knew where Lucas was and until he had more to go on, waiting seemed to be his only option.

"Alright, Bill, I'll wait. For now, anyway, but promise me you'll hurry. That's Lucas out there and he's in danger."

"I promise."

TBC

I want to thank my beta EskimoSatan for her great work. I thank you for the review. It's encouraging me to continue.


	9. Section Seven

I want to thanks my beta EskimoSatan for her great work. Thank you for review my fic.

_**- CHAPTER NINE -**_

_**- SECTION SEVEN -**_

In a small office in a building that didn't exist, Mario looked at his vidlink, a surprised, if vaguely tight smile on his face, "Well, it isn't every day I have Admiral Bill Noyce on my line. It's not like you to contact Section Seven, Admiral, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Noyce didn't return the smile, "Ghost Man."

Mario's heart fluttered in his chest, "I... Look, Bill, just stay out of this."

He made a move to cut the line, but Bill spoke again, staying his hand. "He's after a member of the Seaquest and I take it personally when someone goes after one of my boys."

That was... impossible. "What makes you think he's after anyone from the Seaquest?"

"Because Nathan Bridger told me so and that's good enough for me. I need information, Mario. I need to know why he's going after this person and for what reason."

Mario sat back in his chair and shrugged, "I'll need a name. Who, exactly, is he supposed to be gunning for?"

"Lucas Wolenczak."

His heart did that funny flutter again, "Oh, god, please not again."

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

Mario reached for his keyboard and began typing out a message. "Bill, please tell me Lucas is onboard the Seaquest."

Noyce shook his head, dread making his stomach heavy, "No, he ran away this morning, told Bridger this Ghost Man killed Lawrence and he's afraid that Cynthia and the Seaquest are in danger."

"Shit!" Mario hit send and leaned forward, clenching his hair in his hands. "Shit, shit, SHIT!"

Finally, he looked over at Noyce, "I need to get with my superior on this, Bill. Call the Seaquest, tell them they'll be getting a call from us shortly and you'd get onboard the ship, too. We'll need your help with Bridger."

"What are you going to do about Ghost Man? Who is he?"

"Bill, just do what I say if you want to stay alive. Get to the Seaquest. Wait for our call."

Mario cut the line and Noyce stared at his screen. In all the years Mario had been his contact in Section Seven, he'd never seen the man react that way. They're conversations had always been a game of who could remain the calmest, but that... Mario hadn't even tried to hide his worry and that wasn't good. In fact, that was very, very bad.

Buzzing his secretary, he told her to call the Seaquest and let Bridger know that he'd be coming onboard. It would take him at least an hour, but Mario would have known that, so he'd give him plenty of time to get there before calling. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't going to hurry.

General Mario Davenport entered the office of his superior, a serious frown on his face and dread in his chest. This wasn't good news, this was, in fact, the worst kind of news, the kind that was going to put his boss out of his mind. As much as he dreaded it, though, it was his duty to inform him of the situation - the death of Lawrence Wolenczak and the threat to Cynthia and the Seaquest.

"Mario, come in. We were just finishing our meeting."

Mario nodded respectfully, standing before the seven top ranking members of Section Seven. Six of them stood, preparing to leave, but he stopped them. "I'm afraid it might be better for everyone to stay."

The highest ranking of the members, Mario's boss, nodded, curiosity clear in his raised eyebrows. "Go ahead, we're listening."

"I received a call from Admiral Bill Noyce in the UEO Headquarters..." he faltered and his boss nodded, coaxing him to continue. Taking a deep breath, Mario plunged ahead, determined to get it out and over with. "Lawrence Wolenczak had been murdered, sir, Admiral Noyce says it was Ghost Man."

His boss chuckled, though there was tension behind it. "Impossible. Ghost Man knows better than that. Any attack against the Wolenczak's would get him thrown back in prison."

"Lucas Wolenczak is sure that it's him. In fact, he was sure enough to tell Captain Bridger."

There was a long pause and any humor, however forced, left his boss's face. "Where's the boy now?"

"They don't know. He ran away. He's sure that Cynthia and the crew are in danger."

The other six men exchanged glances, while his boss stood up, "We have to protect them. Send a team to escort Cynthia to the Omega Safehouse. If anything happens to her, that boy will bring us down. Mario, take a shuttle and board the Seaquest. You'll be our contact there."

"Sir, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, but I need to figure that out before Ghost Man makes his move and I need to find Lucas. Now."

At the same time, Lucas was laying on the bench, his eyes tightly closed, trying to block out the past. Closing his eyes wasn't doing any good, though, the past was in his head, it was all around him and he couldn't escape it. Like the blackness of sleep closing in around him from all sides.

Flashback

Lucas lay curled on the floor in the smallest possible ball. He had no idea why he was there, but his family had been killed and he could hear their deaths, see their eyes staring forward blankly in his head. He wanted to join them.

The door opened suddenly and two men entered the small room, looking down at the cowering boy. One of them stepped forward, a repulsive smile on his face, "Hello, Lucas. You can call me Ghost Man." Lucas tried to curl even tighter into himself as the man knelt down. "You are a very intelligent boy, Lucas, and we need you for some very important experiments."

Standing up, Ghost Man turned to his associate, "Take him into surgery," he spared another glance for the shaking child, "and hurry, the good doctor is getting impatient."

"Yes, sir."

The other man leaned down and Lucas backed himself further into his corner. "Stay away from me." His voice was barely a whisper, choked with fear. The man grabbed him, his hand tightening like a metal band around Lucas' arm. "No! Stay away from me! Let me go!"

He was forced to stand and dragged out of the room, tears making wet tracks down his cheeks. "Let me go! Let me go!"

The door across the hall was open and Lucas doubled his frantic efforts when he saw the table in the middle of the room, straps hanging off it. "Please? Please, let me go?"

A doctor stood next to the table, inspecting the cleanliness of his tools. He looked up as Lucas was pulled into the room, taking in the struggling boy before going back to his task of preparing for the operation.

End Flashback

Lucas woke from his nightmare in a cold sweat. The back of his neck throbbed. The scar had faded over the last ten years, but he reached up and rubbed at the source of the phantom pain. How could he possibly forget everything Ghost Man had done to him?

Taking a deep breath, he pulled his communicator out of his pocket again. He had to call Cynthia, he had to do something and do it fast if he wanted to save the others. He dialed the number and waited. When the line opened, cold fear washed over him at what he saw.

Ghost Man.

TBC


	10. Ghost Man

_**- CHAPTER TEN -**_

_**- GHOST MAN -**_

When Bill Noyce arrived aboard the Seaquest he was not in the least surprised to find Bridger and O'Neill waiting for him in the launch bay. O'Niell nodded to Noyce respectfully, his hand at his ear, holding his headset in place while he listened to the other end.

Bill held a hand out to Bridger, his mouth set in a grim frown, "It's good to see you, Nathan." Bridger took the proffered hand. "I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances."

O'Neill looked up suddenly, "Captain, there's a shuttle requesting permission to board. They have Section Seven clearance."

When if came to Section Seven, 'requesting permission' was a formality. If Bridger denied them, they'd dock anyway and be well within their rights. Bridger's gaze snapped back to Noyce, who's frown had deepened further. He hadn't expected them to arrive this quickly and it didn't bode well for the situation if Section Seven was that concerned about it. Nodding at Bridger, the three of them made their way to the port where the shuttle was setting in.

General Mario Davenport stepped through the hatch, hand at the ready and a smile on his face, "Hello again, Bill." Neither of them took his hand, but his smile never faltered. "Captain Bridger, I apologize for intruding, but I have new orders, directly from Section Seven's counsel."

Definitely not good. If Section Seven as a whole took an interest things were bad, if the actual counsel took an interest? 'Bad' didn't even begin to cover it. "What do you mean, Mario? What orders?

"The Seaquest and her crew, and I mean everyone aboard - military, science, civilian - are now under Section Seven administration. Until the completion of this mission, this ship is my jurisdiction and you will follow my orders, or you will be arrested..."

Noyce grit his teeth in anger, "What do you think you're doing, Davenport?"

"Trying to make sure you all get out of this alive and don't even think about going over my head. There is no over my head, in this. Captain, call a senior staff meeting in the warroom." Bridger stared at him, not moving. "Now!"

All of Bridger's better judgment warred against doing what he was told. Everything about Section Seven made Bridger's skin crawl. He wanted to tell this man to go to hell, the Seaquest was his ship and her people were his responsibility. But he couldn't protect them from something he knew nothing about and, more importantly, he couldn't protect them if Davenport lived up to his threat and had him thrown in the brig. He turned to O'Neill, "Do it."

Five minutes later, they watched as everyone filed into the warroom, taking their seats for the second time in as many days. Confused glances were being thrown at the General Davenport, who had taken the Captain's usual seat at the head of the table. When they were all seated, Davenport laced his fingers together, setting them on the table in front of him. "Captain Bridger, I want you to step up to red alert."

Bridger hadn't thought it was possible to get any tenser, but he'd been wrong. Every muscle and some he didn't know he had tightened. "Red alert? Why?"

Davenport ignored the question. "We'll be leaving Cape Quest immediately. Call in all search parties and reassign them to scour the ship. I have reason to believe there is a bomb somewhere on board and I want it found."

Alarmed murmurs ran through the room and Bridger stood up, "A bomb?!"

"Captain, sit down."

Bridger put his palms on the table, leaning forward to tower over the still seated Davenport. "If there is a bomb on my ship, I want all civilians removed before we leave port. I'm not putting them in that kind of danger."

The General stood up, mirroring Bridger's posture and putting their noses only inches apart. "No, Captain." Despite the anger in his face, his voice was calm and even. "Nobody is going to leave this ship. Ghost Man is out there and he's waiting for any chance he can to snatch someone, anyone, that Lucas will recognize. Trust me, Captain, whatever Ghost Man does to them will make a bomb threat look like a peace-treaty."

"Who is Ghost Man?"

Davenport smiled again, "Who Ghost Man is, isn't your problem. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is following my orders. Dismissed."

They stared each other down for several, long moments while the crew watched and waited. Finally, Bridger turned to his crew, his distaste clear in the crease of his brow. "You heard the man, call out a red alert, bring in the search party, regroup to search the ship for a possible bomb. Everyone not assigned a post is on lock down until we find it."

Davenport nodded his approval and sat back down, his hands in his lap. The entire thing was a worst case scenario, but maybe, just maybe it was salvageable.

Lucas stared at the face in front of him, his panic and terror momentarily numbed by shock. The call had been coming from his aunt's house. There was no way Ghost Man could be there. He just couldn't be.

"Hello, child, it's been too long." Lucas tried to swallow, but it stuck in his throat. "Do you want to talk to your aunt, Lucas? I'm sure she wants to talk to you, don't you, Cynthia? Don't be shy now, come here. No need to keep the poor boy waiting."

Ghost Man moved out of the way and Cynthia's face came on screen, her eyes puffy and red, but her lips drawn tight in determination, "Hello, Lucas."

With effort, Lucas managed to speak, his words coming out too soft and too high, "Aunt Cynthia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Lucas, don't worry about me. Are you safe?"

She was yanked off screen, replaced once again by the hated man. "Wasn't that nice, Lucas? A little family reunion. Now, I think we need to talk, Lucas." Lucas' gut twisted at the thought of going anywhere near Ghost Man and it must have shown on his face, because the next words out of his mouth were, "You wouldn't want anything to happen to you dear aunt here, would you?"

Lucas managed a soft, "No."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"No, please. I'll do what you want, but please, don't hurt her."

"Too late." Ghost Man's face twisted into a smile and Lucas knew what was coming next, even if he didn't want to believe it. A gun shot sounded, muffled over the small speaker, but Lucas jumped anyway, his resolve to hide shattering as the communicator was turned to display that body of his aunt, a bullet whole through her head, blood splatter dropping from the wall onto the carpet behind her.

He couldn't breathe. His chest was so tight it hurt.

Ghost Man held the picture there, his voice coming through as clearly as if it were right next to Lucas' ear, "Now, my pretty boy, unless you want more people to get hurt, and by that I do mean the entire Seaquest, be at our special place in one hour."

The transmission ended, but Lucas could still see the blood and the body as if it had been carved into his retinas. He knew what he had to do and it started with warning the Seaquest.

"Captain, you have an incoming call."

"On screen, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir."

The large monitor flicked to life and Lucas face appeared on screen, pale and drawn, but alive. Bridger just managed to keep himself from jumping out of his seat. "Lucas, where are you?" Lucas cut his eyes to the side as Bridger tried to appeal to him, "Section Seven is trying to find you, Lucas, to keep you safe."

The bitterness in Lucas' voice was something that Bridger was entirely unprepared for. "There's nothing Section Seven can do. If I don't follow Ghost Man's orders, he'll kill all of you."

Davenport moved to stand in next to Bridger. "Lucas, I'm General Davenport with Section Seven. You have to come back aboard the ship so that we can protect you. Don't worry about Cynthia, we sent a team to take her to a safe location."

Something that was probably meant to be laugh, but came out as more of a sob escaped Lucas' mouth and the boy narrowed his eyes distrustfully at Davenport. "You're too late. Cynthia's dead."

"What?" Davenport gripped the arm of Bridger's chair. "Lucas, are you sure?"

"He made me watch." The naked pain in Lucas' wetly shining eyes wavered to anger. "He put a bullet in her head. He... he's killed my whole family. There's no one left. No one. He killed my mother and my father and my brother and my sister and now my aunt and my uncle and I don't understand why! Why kill uncle Lawrence and aunt Cynthia? Why?!"

Davenport cringed openly, but held his ground. "Lucas, calm down. You have to come back so that we can protect you."

His breathing was hard and fast, tears making tracks down his face, though Lucas made no move to wipe them away. "I already told you, it's too late." Finally, he made eye contact with Bridger. "There's a bomb on Seaquest, sir, and knowing him, it'll be plasma and it'll be in the engine room. I... I have to do what he says or... I'm sorry, sir."

Bridger barely managed to get out, "Lucas!" before the transmission cut. "Damnit, not again. O'Neill, please tell me you traced that call."

"Yes, sir. Location was about a half an hour from the New Cape Quest General Hospital. I'll forward the coordinated to Chief Croker immediately, sir."

"No!" Davenport glared at Bridger, his composure back, his mask once again firmly in place. "I'll send my men." Bridger started to argue, but Davenport cut him off. "They're closer than yours and if you want to help that boy, you will do what I say and find. that. bomb."

Bridger wanted to argue. He wanted his men out there looking for Lucas. He wanted Lucas to have familiar faces around him. The look on Lucas' face, though, when he'd said he had no one left, haunted Bridger. He did have people left and those people were all on board the Seaquest. Keeping them alive was as imperative to Lucas' safety as finding him. "Fine, but if anything happens to Lucas..."

"We'll do everything in our power to make sure we bring him back safe." Davenport turned to O'Neill, "I'll be needing those coordinates."

At Bridger's nod, O'Neill rattled them off and Davenport called his team, sending them to fetch Lucas. Hopefully, before Ghost Man could. Bridger took his cue and relayed messages to the teams he had searching the ship, designating two of them to go to the Engine Room and informing Chief Croker that it looked like they were dealing with a plasma bomb and to get ready the necessary gear for disarmament.

Davenport half listened to Bridger while he gave his men the coordinates, telling them to take Lucas to Headquarters for interrogation. There had to be a reason that Ghost Man was so intent of getting hold of Lucas Wolenczak, they just needed to find out what it was.

TBC


	11. Revelation

**_- CHAPTER ELEVEN -_**

**_- REVELATION -_**

Two long, tedious hours later, the security team finally found the plasma bomb. By nature, plasma bombs were tricky, easily detonated by the slightest thing. All it would take was too hard of a nudge against the casing, or the scissors jabbing into the wrong wire to set it off.

Luckily, Ghost Man hadn▓t done anything fancy, it was standard and in another ten minutes that felt more like an hour, it was finally neutralized and sitting harmlessly in a sealed hazard waste vac, waiting for them to make port so they could properly dispose of it. Well, mostly harmless, plasma was always volatile, but as long as they didn▓t go tossing it around, they▓d be fine.

Now all that was left was for Section Seven to contact him with news of Lucas.

⌠General Davenport, you have an incoming communication.■

⌠Put it through a secure line in the warroom, Lieutenant.■

⌠Yes, sir.■

Davenport leaned back in the chair.

⌠General Davenport, this is Lieutenant Biron reporting with news on Lucas Wolenczak.■

⌠Did you secure the boy?■

⌠Yes, sir.■

A short pause told him that there was more to it than that. ⌠And?■

⌠He became... extremely agitated by our presence and we had to use force to secure him.■

He could just see it now. Captain Bridger would not be pleased if his golden boy showed up with fresh bruises on him. ⌠What kind of force?■

⌠Tranquilizers, sir, to stop him from trying to escape. We▓re currently en route to Headquarters, eta in ten minutes.■

⌠Check in with the counsel when you get there, they▓ll tell you where to put the boy. Good work, Lieutenant.■

⌠Thank you, sir.■

The connection went dead and Davenport closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Actually, that was far better than he▓d been hoping for. Lucas was not an easy target to pin down, he was resourceful, intelligent, well trained, and worst of all, terrified. If they▓d managed to get away with little more than a small bruise where the dart went in, he▓d count his blessings and move on to the next problem at hand. Pacifying the Seaquest.

Captain Bridger and his crew were quite obviously and unashamedly attached to Lucas. They▓d want to know he was safe. Ideally, that would mean communication, however, seeing Lucas unconscious and surrounded by soldiers probably wasn▓t going to make them feel any more at ease.

Still, Lucas was a part of the ship and they had some right to know that he was safe. What they didn▓t need to know, however, was that their little boy genius was going to have to answer to Section Seven before coming home.

Getting up, he made his way to the bridge to give them the good news. Well, perhaps good was stretching it, but again, another thing they didn▓t need to know.

⌠Captain, I▓m happy to inform you that my team has caught up with Lucas, they▓ve taken him into custody and are transporting him to a safe location.■

Bridger sat up, tense. ⌠Where?■

⌠I can▓t tell you that just yet.■ Bridger opened his mouth to argue, but Davenport cut him off. ⌠It▓s for his own safety. The fewer people that know, the less risk to him. Don▓t worry, as soon as we know he▓s not in any danger, I▓ll have him brought back here. On behalf of Section Seven, I thank you for your cooperation. Seaquest is now under your control. Bill, a word?■

Bridger grabbed Noyce▓s sleeve as he moved to follow Davenport out of the hatch. ⌠Bill, why the hell aren▓t they bringing Lucas back? He▓s a member of my crew, my responsibility. They can▓t just take him like that.■

Bill gave Davenport a nod and dropped his voice. ⌠You know as well as I do that Section Seven can do whatever the hell they want and there▓s not a damn thing either one of us can do about it.■

⌠It doesn▓t make any sense, Bill. Why was Lucas calling Lawrence and Cynthia his aunt and uncle? What did he mean about ten years ago?■ Bill looked nervously at Davenport, who was waiting impatiently in the hall. ⌠Bill.■ Bridger was pleading with him, gripping his arm even more tightly. ⌠Ghost Man, or whoever the hell he is, killed his family. Can you look into it? See if you can get some kind of information?■

Bill gave Bridger a long look before finally nodding, clapping Nathan on the arm. ⌠You aren▓t alone, Nathan, something strange is going on. I▓m going to return to UEO Headquarters and do some digging.■

Finally, Nathan nodded and let Bridger go. Now he just had to wait.

Two Hours Later:

Nathan glanced around the warroom at Kristine▓s concerned face before settling back on the wall screen that was supposed to be coming alive any moment. Bill had called him to UEO Headquarters and told him to patch him through to a secure line. In fact, the more secure the better. O▓Niell was routing the call through several servers, jamming it three ways and running static interference, just in case. Perhaps it was overkill, but when going over Section Seven▓s head, overkill was the way you stayed alive.

The screen turned bright blue and everyone sat straight in their chairs as Bill came on screen. ⌠Nathan.■

⌠Bill.■ He didn▓t bothering with unnecessary words and he didn▓t have to. Bill knew how anxious they all were.

⌠I did some digging, and I think I▓ve got some answers, but you won▓t like them.■

Nathan tensed, ⌠What exactly am I not going to like?■

⌠Why don▓t I let Agent Carter explain?

The image flickered, wavering with the static for a moment before coming sharply into focus. ⌠Hello, Captain Bridger. I▓m Special Agent Davon Carter with the Federal Bureau of Investigations.■

⌠Agent Carter, I know how risky this is. Thank you for joining us.■

⌠Just glad to be of help. Eleven years ago I was called out to a homicide in Buffalo, New York.■

Bridger and Kristine exchanged confused glances. ⌠What does that have to do with Lucas.■

Agent Carter smiled sadly, ⌠I▓ll get to that, Captain, but, please, be patient. As I was saying, I went to investigate a homicide in New York. Pretty grisly affair, even in my line of work. It was a family, living out in the suburbs, gunned down with almost... clinical precision. An entire family had been killed, both parents, Jason and Shalimar Wolenczak and two of their children, Matthew and Laura.■

Lucas▓ words echoed in Nathan▓s head, ▒he▓s killed my whole family▓. ⌠They were Lucas▓s relative?■

⌠More than that. Jason and Shalimar were his biological parents. Matthew was his older brother, Laura his twin sister.■

Nathan remembered all the times Lucas had referred to himself as an only child. He▓d had a brother and a sister?

⌠Evidence at the scene suggests they didn▓t attempt to run, or fight. Whoever did it was there to kill them and didn▓t give any of them a chance to fight back. Disturbing as it was, it reminded us of military executions. One bullet to the head, right between the eyes. However, our biggest concern was the missing son.■

⌠Lucas.■ Kristine wasn▓t asking, but Agent Carter answered.

⌠Yes. I searched for him for ten years. One day, a boy showed up at my front door, claiming that I was the investigator in charge of his family▓s murder. He looked... well, he looked like hell, really. He was malnourished, bruised, far too small for his age, very pale, and he twitched every time someone came within five feet of him. I thought he was going to be sick when my wife took him inside the house to feed him.■

⌠He said his name was Lucas Wolenczak. I was... hesitant to believe him at first. After ten years we▓d pretty much assumed the boy was dead, but we took him to the hospital, ran a blood sample and, sure enough, he was Lucas.■

Nathan finally found his voice, ⌠Where had he been the last ten years?■

⌠According to Lucas, a man broke into his home, informed his parents that his boss wanted Lucas and that if they didn▓t cooperate he would kill them. When they told him to leave, he shot Lucas▓s parents, then his brother, then his sister, then took Lucas and left. Lucas refused to tell anyone what was done to him, but he said that he▓d managed to hack into the FBI files and saw that I was in charge of his investigation. When he escaped, he found me.■

⌠Who had him?■ Nathan had a feeling that he wasn▓t going to like the answer, but it was Lucas and if they were going to help him, they needed to know all the facts.

⌠A man by the name of Mason Eckart. Real piece of work. We had him arrested and put on trial and we won, too. He was supposed to be in jail for the rest of his life. Lawrence was Jason▓s older brother and Lucas▓s only living relative. Him and his wife Cynthia had been unable to have children themselves and they jumped at the chance to take care of Lucas.■

⌠Even with Eckart behind bars, Lucas was spooked. He kept saying that Eckart was going to come after him. I kept in touch with the family for the most part, making sure Lucas was okay and adjusting well. The last time I talk to Lawrence, he▓d said Lucas▓s paranoia over Eckart had gotten pretty bad. They▓d settled it by sending Lucas to the Seaquest. It was in the middle of the ocean most of the time and even if Eckart did come after him, there were enough military personnel on board to keep him safe.■

Kristine dropped her hand from her mouth. ⌠Wait, Lucas was afraid of someone he called Ghost Man.■

⌠Ghost Man is Mason Eckart▓s code name in Section Seven. He worked for them and a private society.■

⌠Section Seven?■ Nathan▓s blood ran cold. ⌠They were involved with what happened to Lucas and if Mason▓s free, it▓s their doing.■ He stood up, gripping the back of his chair, ⌠Damnit, they have Lucas.■

Kristine stood as well, ⌠Section Seven has Lucas?■

⌠They said they were taking him into custody to protect him. Bill, we have to do something.■

The screen split for Bill▓s face, ⌠I know, Nathan, I▓m already on it. I▓ll contact Secretary-General McGrath.■

Agent Carter nodded to Nathan, ⌠I▓ll sent you a copy of the investigation and the medical files concerning Lucas and his family. I▓m sorry I can▓t be of more help.■

Nathan managed a tight smile, ⌠Thank you for giving us that much. If there▓s anything you ever need, you let me know.■

⌠Good luck, Captain.■ Agent Carter cut his line.

Bill looked somber as he reached over to turn his end off as well. ⌠I▓ll be in touch.■

Kristine turned to Nathan as soon as they were alone again. ⌠Nathan, if Section Seven has him...■ she choked off. ⌠Dear God, what are we going to do?■

Nathan shook his head, his fists still clenched over the back of his chair. ⌠I really don▓t know, Kristine.■ Section Seven was bigger than them, more ruthless. This, if nothing else, proved it. One of their own was responsible for what had happened to Lucas and it was very possible, probable even, that they had known about it all along. In fact, they▓d most likely been playing all of them so they could get their hands on Lucas again.

Right now, all he could do was wait for Bill to call back and hope he had some good news.

**_TBC_**


	12. Saving Lucas

I'm very sorry for the long time, but I was in vacation for the summer. I want to thank my beta EskimoSatan for the great work she've done. Thank you for the reviwes, I'm trying to work faster now that I'm back home and not in the midle of the wood with no energie exept candles. Not very good to make my computer working. LOL.

**_- CHAPTER TWELVE -_**

**_- SAVING LUCAS -_**

" Admiral Noyce, it's good to see you. " General McGath stood up, extending a hand, which Noyce took.

" What can I do for you? "

Noyce held a thick folder up with his free hand, " I want you to read this report and tell me what you think. "

McGath took the folder and opened it, thumbing through the pages, his frown deepening the further he got into it. Noyce tried not to look smug as he watched the outrage slowly building in the General's face. Sitting down, McGath continued going over the file, slower, taking in the details of the events.

After nearly an hour, McGath looked up, his face pinched tight, but his voice calm. " Stay here, I have something to take care of. "

Noyce sat at the desk quietly, watching the minutes tick by on the clock, wondering what McGath was doing, what he had planned. For the boy's sake, he hoped it was good.

General McGath slid into his car, followed by two of his guards and gave his driver clipped orders on where to go. It was a building only a few blocks away, as tall and imposing as every other government building in the area, but lacking the usual crests of loyalty. Most people assumed it was simply a high priced office for successful businesses that had a reason to be near the UEO. Perhaps a trade company, or the headquarters for one of the many manufacturing firms that provided parts and labor to the UEO.

It served a few of those purposes, mostly as cover, but it's main tenants were on the top floor, thirty stories up on a glass elevator that overlooked a large atrium in the center lobby. When the doors opened, McGath allowed his guards to flank him as he marched across the tastefully decorated sitting area.

The secretary looked up, smiling at first, but then faltering when he didn't stop to identify himself, or even so much as look at her. " Excuse me! " She stood up, holding out a hand to grab the sleeve of his coat as he past. " Sir, you can't go in there without..."

One the guards fell back and took her arm, pulling her away as he flashed his badge. She stuttered, looked at her phone and back at McGath who was quickly coming to the door, but even if she'd thrown herself across her desk she couldn't have buzzed her employers before the General slammed open the double wide doors.

The conference room was a large and windowless, with mundane artwork and a round metal table in the center, where the members of Section Seven congregated daily to discuss their affairs. McGath had dealt with them often enough to know that they rarely left the room, preferring to communicate with the outside world through vid-links. Sometimes, he wondered if they didn't sleep there in the office.

They managed to not look surprised as the doors banged forcefully against the wall. McGath himself was hard pressed not to cringe - manual doors were antique, used by people with too much money and power and not enough sense. In other words, people like Section Seven.

The little secretary brushed past McGath as she finally forced her way into the room, " Excuse me, sorry. Sirs, it's um... Secretary-General Georges McGath. Here to see you. "

Her cheeks blushed dark and she gave an apologetic shrug. " That's alright, Dorene. We'll take it from here. " 

" Thank you, sirs. Excuse me. "

McGath didn't spare her another glance as she brushed past again, her head ducked in embarrassment. She couldn't have been more than twenty-two, fresh out of school, perhaps even still attending.

" You'll have to excuse Dorene. She's new here, but she's so enthusiastic. " There were nods of agreement all around the table and McGath found himself once again disconcerted at facing a group of seven men that seemed to have only one voice. " So, this is very much a surprise, old friend. Why don't you join us? Have a seat and a coffee. "

McGath considered refusing, but decided that he'd rather try and keep this civilized, despite the fact that it would most undoubtedly end up otherwise. " My guards will have to stay, I'm afraid - as a security measure. I'm sure you understand. " He sat down, his guards moving to stand behind him while Dorene shyly bustled forward with a steaming cup of coffee and closed the doors behind her.

" Of course, whatever makes you feel comfortable, Georges. " If they noticed the hostility in his voice, they didn't acknowledge it. Not that he expected them to. The few meetings they'd had, had been filled with forced niceties and they were very good at controlling their expressions, keeping their feelings in the dark. " Now, was there something you needed from us? "

" I'm here for Lucas Wolenczak. "

Apparently, they weren't as perfect as McGath had thought they were, because the shock was clear in their widened eyes and suddenly slacked jaws. They recovered quickly, but not quickly enough. It was obvious that whatever reason they had thought McGath was there, Lucas was not it. That made McGath wonder what else they were hiding. What dirty secret - and he was sure there were plenty of them - had they thought he'd uncovered?

They looked at each other before the speaker focused back on McGath, his face a carefully carved, smiling mask of pleasant confusion. " I'm sure we have no idea what you're talking about. Who is this Lucas Wolenczak? "

" Don't play games with me. " McGath stood up, his arms straight at his sides, his hands curled dangerously close to the gun concealed under his jacket. " I know the boy is here, probably through that door behind you. In one of those labs that don't exist. Now either bring him out, or I'll let my men take care of you while I go in and get him myself. "

Seven pairs of eyes narrowed angrily and there was more than just a small amount of satisfaction at having provoked such an obvious display. " Don't threaten us... "

However, satisfying or not, he wasn't here to play with them. " Stop. I've had enough of your dirty little intrigues. I want Lucas and I want him NOW. Guards. Call a search team in, anyone who resists or interferes is to be arrested and remanded at UEO headquarters for further questioning. " Sitting down, he eyed them across the table as he picked up his coffee. " You aren't getting out of this. I've put up with a hell of a lot from you in the past few years, but this is going too far. So, why don't we all just sit back and wait and see what else we uncover in our search. " Sipping from the Styrofoam container, he raised an eyebrow, " Good coffee, by the way. "

After several seconds of silent communication between the seven officers, their shoulders sagged. " Lucas Wolenczak is in Interrogation Room Delta Six. Do you want to come with us, or would you prefer to enjoy your coffee while we go fetch? "

The resentment was clear and sweet, but McGath didn't have time to enjoy it. " Why is the boy in an interrogation room? "

More conspiratorial glances. " The punishment for going anywhere near the Wolenczak family, and Lucas in particular, was severe. Ghost Man understood that. We needed to know why he wanted Lucas so badly. However, Lucas hasn't exactly been as cooperative as we'd hoped. So, we... took some measures to get what we needed. "

" You tortured him. "

" You make it sound so crass. We merely used our impressive powers of persuasion. "

" Did he tell you? "

There was a significant pause. " No, he's proven very difficult to break. He would make a marvelous agent for the team. "

McGath's stomach rolled at the thought. " In your dreams. Take me to Lucas. "

Six of the members stayed behind and McGath ordered one of the his guards to sit watch. He doubted they'd do anything, but then they'd just admitted to torturing a child, so perhaps he shouldn't over estimate them. The halls wound through the building like a maze. Stairs leading to one hallway, but no further, other leading two floor doors without breaks.

It was designed to be difficult to navigate. Anyone trying to sneak around was more likely to get lost than actually find what they were looking for. A floor down and three halls later, they stopped in front of a metal sliding door. The representative for Section Seven stepped back, head tilted in the universal ' you go first. '

Looking into the room, though, McGath felt his stomach drop out from under him. " Oh, god, you... " He faltered at the words, because ' torture ' didn't seem harsh enough. Lucas wasn't covered in cuts, he had only minor bruising, but McGath knew there were many things a person could do that wouldn't leave a mark. From the way Lucas was huddled in the corner, arms wrapped around himself, whimpering softly at the light, McGath could only begin to guess which ones they'd implemented.

Slowly, he moved forward into the room, trying not to lose his barely held calm when Lucas's bare feet scraped against the floor, trying to push himself further into his corner. " Lucas, it's me, General McGath. "

There wasn't any relief in the sob that shook the boy's body.

" I'm not here to hurt you. You're safe now. I'm taking you out of here. "

Finally, Lucas looked up, his eyes betraying his mistrust. He remembered classes on military tactic, lectures on how you could break a person just by giving them hope and he very nearly took the gun from it's holster and ended the sorry waste of skin that would do those kinds of things to a child.

Lucas held his gaze, watching him carefully for nearly a minute before forcing himself to speak in a dry, cracking voice. " I just want to go home. "

" You have to see a doctor first, Lucas... " He reached his hands out and put them on Lucas's arms, attempting to draw him out of the corner.

" No! " Lucas pulled away, his voice more forceful, as if daring McGath to do something. " I want to go home. I want the Seaquest. Please. "

McGath imagined these men offering Lucas respite from the torture. Telling him he could go home, promising to take him back to Captain Bridger and his other friends, if he just gave them what they wanted. He saw a few faded track marks on the inside of Lucas's arm and knew there were more, wondered what kind of drugs and how much of them they'd pumped into him. He had to get Lucas to a doctor.

" It's all right. I'll make a deal with you? " The mistrust didn't fade, but it didn't intensify and McGath had to be thankful for that small favor. " I'll take you to UEO Headquarters. Bill Noyce is there. You've met him. He's a friend of Bridger's. "

After a long few moments, Lucas nodded shakily, " Yes. "

" Okay, we'll go there, let my personal physician take care of your injuries, give you a check up, and then Bill will take you back to Seaquest. It won't be more than a few hours and you don't have to answer any questions you don't want to. "

There was a very long pause and McGath was beginning to think he was going to have to sedate Lucas just to get him out. Finally, Lucas looked down, nodded, and spoke in a very quiet, subdued voice, " Deal. "

TBC


	13. Welcome home

_**I want to thank you for the reviews. I also want to thanks EskimoSatan for her great work as my beta reader.**_

_**- **_CHAPTER THIRTEEN _**-**_

_**- **_WELCOME HOME _**-**_

Nathan Bridger and the senior staff sat tensely in the war-room, waiting anxiously. Admiral Noyce had called nearly an hour ago, informing them he would be coming on board, but nothing more. Nathan closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep, steadying breath. He hadn't said anything to the crew, but he knew Admiral Noyce well and the man did not make unnecessary trips.

If what he had to say was something that couldn't be corresponded through the vidlink... well, that usually meant it wasn't good news.

UEO Headquarters

"Lucas?" Lucas continued to stare forward, just to the left of General McGath's head. "The doctor's said you need to be careful over the next few weeks. They've prescribed you something for the pain and to help you sleep. So, you can get the rest you need."

Lucas nodded slowly, "Did they catch Ghost Man, General McGath?"

The General fought not to cringe, both from the coming confession and the overly controlled tone of Lucas's voice. Part of it was the pain killers and mild sedative they'd already pumped into him, making him numb, but that wasn't all. There was also the shock of dealing with what had been done to him and it wasn't the first time. "Call me Georges and no, but don't worry about that. Nathan and the Seaquest will protect you."

He nodded again, just slowly as before, taking in what had been said, more than confirming anything. "What's going to happen to me now? I don't... I don't have any family left."

It was a good sign that Lucas was choking up. It meant that he was seeing this as something real, as opposed to just taking in facts. "The UEO has custody of you. If you need anything you let Bill or me know. We'll take care of it." Leaning forward, McGath put a hand on Lucas's arm, ignoring the tightened features that concealed a flinch. "Now, the good doctor said that you needed to get some sleep."

When Lucas tensed further, he forced what he hoped was a comforting smile onto his face, "I won't leave your side until you're safe on Seaquest."

The reassurance clearer worked as Lucas relaxed onto the bed. As the silence stretched between them, Lucas's eyes fought to stay open. "Sir? I want to... thank you. For everything."

"You welcome, Lucas."

With a deep yawn, Lucas finally let his eyes close and, moments later, his breathing evened out. Carefully, McGath stood up and slid open the door to the room, where Bill was waiting. "How is he?"

McGath stood in the doorway, making sure he had one eye on Lucas. There was little point answering Bill's question. They'd both been there when the doctor given them the prognosis and they both knew that Lucas wouldn't be okay for a long time. Still, "He'll live. Is the shuttle ready?"

Bill looked past McGath and stepped into the room. "Yes, we can go. I'll carry him." He leaned down, scooping Lucas up with surprising ease. "Good God, he weighs nothing."

"I'm sure the crew of the Seaquest will take care of that. Did you get any information about the Blue Bird?"

"No, but Nathan sent the crew into port so we can question them."

"Good. Once we've got Lucas safe, we'll get started with that. It's going to be a long and tedious few days."

One hour later the war room door slowly open and the crew see the very Secretary General enter, he stay away of the door and the seaquest crew see suddenly Admiral Noyce enter with is back on them. When he finally turn they could see the little body in is arm. Nathan jump on is feet to see the boy. Kristine right behind him.

" Lu...Lucas ? "

" Captain, it's really you ? " came the sleepy reply.

" Yes, yes kiddo, it's really me. "

" Georges did I'm really home now ? "

" Absolutely Lucas. "

" We need to put him in is quarter Nathan. So he can sleep the medication my doctor give him."

" What happen ? "

" Section Seven. That what happen. But I give you a copies of the report so your going to have every information you need. "

" I put him my self. Kristine do you want to come with me ? "

" Yes Nathan I follow you."

The seaquest crew feel them self begin to relax now they know that the most important member of the ship is finally safe with them. Even if they don't know what happen for Ghost Man.

A few days later Lucas return to is duty and begin some new prank. The first for Ben. He just want to forget the whole experience. He just want to forget Ghost Man. He remember when the entire seaquest crew come to the funeral for Lawrence and Cynthia. MCGath have take care of the security. But Lucas have feel safe with three Hundreds sailor to protect him. Now Lucas Wolenczak can continue his life. The Captain have asked some question, but Lucas told him that is not ready to answer them. Lucas don't want the Captain to rejected him if he found the truth. They know a few of he's secret. But not the most dark ones.

END FOR NOW


End file.
